The Prime Minister also announced an agreement of $600 million with Canadian satellite company Telesat to improve connectivity and expand high-speed Internet coverage to the far north, rural, and remote regions across Canada, through low-earth-orbit satellite capacity.
“Now more than ever, Canadians need reliable access to high-speed Internet as we work, learn, and communicate with our family and friends from home. With today’s announcement, we are continuing to bring faster Internet access to every part of our country, helping businesses grow, creating new jobs, and building a better Canada for everyone,” said Trudeau.
Durham welcomes investment
John Henry, Regional Chair and Chief Executive Officer for the Regional Municipality of Durham said: “Last week I welcomed the Ontario government’s $1 billion investment over six years to improve and expand broadband and cellular access across the province.
“This week, I am happy to see yet another major commitment to broadband, this time from our federal partners: Government of Canada.”
Broadband access is a vital piece of infrastructure that is essential for communication, education, and the economic competitiveness of our residents, businesses and institutions, he pointed out.
“With the announcement of the $1.75 billion Universal Broadband Fund, we look forward to working with the federal government to secure funding for our broadband efforts here in Durham.
“We have already applied to the provincial Improving Connectivity for Ontario (ICON) program for funding to deploy fibre to our rural communities, and with the alignment between these provincial and federal programs, we hope to access the support needed to significantly improve broadband coverage in Durham,” said Henry.
“These investments show how valuable our partnerships with the provincial and federal governments are. It’s with continued investments such as these that we can realize our vision of connecting our entire region with fast and reliable broadband,” he added.
Quick Facts
- The Universal Broadband Fund was announced in Budget 2019. It is part of a series of federal investments made to improve access to high-speed Internet, which are expected to connect nearly 400,000 additional households by the end of 2023.
- The Universal Broadband Fund will also allocate $50 million of its total budget for mobile Internet projects that primarily benefit Indigenous peoples. This includes projects along highways and roads, and in Indigenous communities, where mobile connectivity is lacking.
- The Government of Canada has already made significant progress toward its goal of connecting all Canadians to high-speed Internet by 2030, by supporting projects and programs that will connect 1.2 million Canadian households over the next few years.
- The Government of Canada will work with partners to provide all Canadians with at least 50 megabits per second download speeds and 10 megabits per second upload speeds, no matter where they are in the country. These speeds will allow Canadians to telework, participate in e-learning, and access telehealth resources.
- The Canada Infrastructure Bank recently announced a $2 billion broadband initiative as part of the Growth Plan. This initiative will help connect approximately 750,000 homes and small businesses to broadband in underserved communities, so Canadians can better participate in the digital economy.
- Telesat Canada was established as a Crown Corporation in 1969, and is now a Canadian-controlled privately held corporation. It has employees in five provinces and one territory, and several countries around the world, and is the world’s fourth largest satellite operator.
- Satellites in low-earth-orbit operate 36 times closer to the earth than traditional communications satellites. This means they take less time to send and receive information, leading to better and faster broadband service, including in rural, remote, and northern areas.
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